The Execution of George Floyd
George Floyd, a black man, was murdered by a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for almost 9 minutes, the last two being after Floyd stopped responding. Three other officers at the scene either held Floyd down or prevented any intervention from onlookers. It was a cold-blooded execution -- a modern day equivalent of a lynching. If the murder hadn't been recorded, the false report filed by the officers would have ended the incident as "a black man killed for resisting arrest." All four officers were fired from the police force the next day. A few days later, Chauvin was charged with 3rd degree murder. This was subsequently changed to 2nd degree murder and included charges of being complicit to 2nd degree murder for the other three former officers. As has happened many times in the past, peaceful protests and demonstrations were accompanied by riots, property destruction, and looting. Demonstrations spread acros...